Austin woman accused of child pornography gives up parental rights
Published 6:17 am Tuesday, June 17, 2014
An Austin woman accused of producing child pornography has given up parental rights to her four children.
Deborah Edge voluntarily terminated her parental rights in a hearing Monday in Mower County District Court.
Anthony Edge
Deborah and her husband, Anthony Edge, were charged in May in U.S. District Court with possessing, producing and transporting child pornography over state lines. Anthony also faces federal charges for allegedly coercing a minor to engage in sexual conduct.
Anthony has been transferred to the Sherburne County jail. His lawyer will review a similar agreement to terminate Anthony’s parental rights with him next week.
The Edges have pleaded not guilty to similar state charges in April. Authorities raided the Edge home in late March after they were tipped off by The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child pornography on the chat website Omegle.
The charges:
Omegle tracked a Feb. 22 video chat and captured 26 images of an elementary age girl performing sexual acts with an adult male, according to a court complaint.
Deborah Edge
Police found two computers at the Edge house and a web camera authorities believe was used to produce the video. Officers also found metal blinds in Anthony’s room, similar to those shown in the video.
According to the complaint, police also found recordings of a teenage girl showering. Officers found pinhole cameras inside the house and interviewed a victim, who was unaware she had been recorded.
Later, state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents found a different video of Deborah talking with a naked elementary-aged child in a bathroom, according to court documents.
Authorities found another image of Deborah naked from the waist down and holding a pornographic image of an infant.
Deborah admitted to being in both the video and the photo, according to the complaint. She also told police she knew Anthony was sending the video to someone else, but denied knowing she held a pornographic image of an infant in the photo. She said Anthony had her put on a blindfold when he took the photo.
Anthony previously registered as a sex offender after he was convicted in 2006 of possessing nude pictures of minors. He was charged in 2004 in Olmsted County after police found about 2,300 images of child pornography on a computer he left behind at a former residence.
